War and Love
by leahreid
Summary: As the Horcrux poison weakens him, Dumbledore realizes that he has to finally attend to the long unfinished task he has been avoiding for a long time now… meeting Grindelwald for one last time. Will he get closure or will the memories overwhelm him?


This is a tribute to my favorite Harry Potter character - Albus Dumbledore. Too bad the books don't do justice to him in terms of his sexuality. But then if JK Rowling won't write it, someone has to. Here's to Albus Dumbledore, out and proud gay wizard.

Enjoy! I would love to read your reviews :D

PS. I don't own any characters.

* * *

 **As the Horcrux poison weakens him, Dumbledore realizes that he has to finally attend to the long unfinished task he has been avoiding for a long time now… meeting Grindelwald for one last time. Will he get closure or will the memories overwhelm him?**

* * *

In the dead of the night, occasionally, a chilly wind whistled through the forest. After a while, everything fell silent. The winter was bitterly cold and the entire wilderness slept soundly, covered with a thick blanket of darkness and mist. Suddenly, the silence was marred by a distant sound of boots clanking against a stony path.

The lone traveler buried his nose in his warm woolen muffler but continued a steady stride.

Out in the distance stood, tall and silent, a massive bastion. The traveler stopped a few yards from it and waited, as if deliberating his next step. After a few moments, he walked steadily on. Large concrete walls surrounded the fortress. The sole entrance gate showed signs of abandonment. It creaked unpleasantly as the traveler pushed it open and made his way towards the entrance of the building. He knocked on it.

Once...twice… thrice.

There was no answer.

The man waited patiently. His face was expressionless but his anticipation was betrayed by his gleaming blue eyes behind half moon glasses.

The large door finally opened and a strange hooded creature with an elf-like face stepped out. He shone the dim light of his ancient oil lamp into the stranger's face.

"Who are you?" The creature demanded curtly.

"Dumbledore" The man replied and held out his wand as authentication.

The prison guard stared at him for some time. Even in the faint yellow of the lamp his eyes bore no signs of recognition or comprehension. But he let the visitor in, anyway.

"No one is here." He said just as Dumbledore made his way up the creaky staircase, "We're a prison no more."

As Dumbledore walked towards the sole occupied prison cell he could not help but despair at the situation. The Great Nurmengard Prison was built by Grindelwald to torture his opponents. At the height of his reign of terror, the dark wizard was a force to reckon with. Little would Grindelwald have known then that he would spend the rest of his life locked up in that very prison.

The door creaked open. Dumbledore held up his dimly lit lamp. Its light spread in the dingy room like the warm kiss of the spring on a cold and barren winter land. The lone occupant was a skeletal old man crouched in a corner. The Headmaster was overwhelmed with conflicting emotions. The once strapping young man, Dumbledore fell in love with, was now reduced to a helpless old prisoner.

"Albus," The voice was frail and yet unwavering. "You surprise me."

Dumbledore smiled and moved to sit on the grimy prison floor, beside Grindelwald. He looked into Grindelwald's eyes and felt the time freeze as memories came rushing back to him.

* * *

 _It was a stormy_ _summer night. The gifted graduate from Hogwarts was alone in his room, grieving, not only for his mother but also for his career that had come to an abrupt and tragic end._ _Albus Dumbledore hated it. Godric's Hollow was no place for a genius like him. He wanted to escape from the quiet ordinariness of the village._

 _A knock on the door_ _startled him._ _'_ _Who could have come to visit him at this time of the night_ _'_ _, he thought._

 _He opened the_ _door and saw a rugged young man_ _, drenched in the rain._

" _M-may I help you?"_

" _You're a wizard?" the stranger inquired in a casual don't-give-a-damn attitude. "Thought you'd know where Bagshot lives." He continued with a slight Bulgarian accent._

" _She's across the street." Young Dumbledore replied._

" _Thank you." The boy extended his hand to greet Dumbledore, "I'm Gellert."_

 _There ensued a brief moment of silence. The two wizards stared at each other a little too long. And then Grindelwald broke into a playful grin. He glanced at his own extended hand and then back into Dumbledore's eyes. The latter blushed as he seemed to realize that he had been staring a little too long at the handsome stranger._

" _Uh-yes," Dumbledore tried to sound unperturbed and hastily took hold of Grindelwald's hand. "Albus" He replied._

" _Sorry to bother you. The pathetic excuse of wizards won't let me use magic to travel." Grindelwald spoke as he hurried towards Bathilda's house across the street._

 _And Dumbledore stood in the doorway. He swallowed a lump in his throat. 'Maybe Godric's Hollow will offer him something to look forward to, after all.' He thought to himself._

* * *

A click of fingers near his face brought Dumbledore out of his reverie. Grindelwald sat across him with a wicked grin on his face.

"Well, it's been a long time since I saw you last." He said.

"Yes, indeed." Dumbledore whispered. There was so much to be said and yet there were no words that came to his mind. Perhaps, he wondered, Grindelwald too felt the same.

"What brings ye here Albus?" The dark wizard questioned.

"I come to warn you, Gellert." Dumbledore said, "Voldemort will come looking for you. He is desperate to own the elder wand."

"You're not dull, Albus. I suppose you already know that the wand changes its allegiance to the winner. You have had it all along."

Dumbledore hesitated. Perhaps, deep down he knew that Voldemort was only an excuse and not the real reason why he really wanted to meet Grindelwald. It was best to stick to business, he thought to himself. He could not let his poor heart be broken yet again But he also knew that the latter was no fool. How long then, would the appearances last?

"Ah, Gellert. I do know." Dumbledore spoke. "But after me, he shall come after you."

Grindelwald's expression was grave as he realized the meaning hidden between the lines. "Surely Albus, I'd like to think you can take the bastard down."

Dumbledore's eyes glistened under the flickering light of the old oil lamp. He was flattered by the praise.

"I have a plan. But for me, I'm afraid…" His voice trailed off as he subconsciously began to survey his blackened arm.

Grindelwald's hand felt cold as he began to examine Dumbledore's damaged arm. The poison was beginning to numb the sensations. But for a moment it seemed that the cold and frail, yet familiar, hand had tickled them awake.

* * *

 _Despite the heavy rains the day before, it had turned out to be a bright sunny day. A young Dumbledore had a spring in his step, perhaps, after a very long time. He hoped to be friends with that handsome boy who had knocked on his door the night before. And so it happened._

" _Albus! Meet my nephew, Gellert." Bathilda Bagshot was excited as she introduced Dumbledore to her new visitor._

 _The two boys smiled at each other. Grindelwald was quick to break the ice. He was eager to know the other boy's level of wizardry. And so it began. A cocktail of flattery and flirtation that made Albus throw caution to the wind and become deeply involved with Grindelwald._

 _Later that evening, Grindelwald invited Dumbledore for an adventure to the nearby woods. It should have alarmed the latter when the rogue wizard started talking about controlling animals using Imperious Curse. But Albus just stood watching as the young blonde began his notorious experiments with dark magic._

" _Your turn." Gellert shouted excitedly._

" _I-I. Maybe…" Albus hesitated. He had never used the Unforgivable Curses. Hogwarts was strictly against dark magic._

" _Allow me to teach you." Grindelwald came up behind Dumbledore and guided the latter's clumsy hands. Dumbledore felt the callous hands brush against his arm, exposed through rolled up sleeves. The contact was gentle but exhilarating. In that moment he was possessed. The curse was cast but the guilt was overtaken by the butterflies of a budding love._

* * *

"This is dark magic, Albus. Very dark." The old prisoner muttered. "Voldemort, I presume?"

Dumbledore pulled his arm back. "It has been contained for now." He replied.

"I'm sorry, Albus. Always though you would live for at least a few centuries." At first Dumbledore thought the prisoner was, like always, mocking him. But as he looked into his eyes he could see concern. It always amazed him, how Grindelwald could be a man of such contradictions. How could a man so loving be capable of so much hate? How could a man so caring be so cruel? How could a man so brilliant be so shallow? These questions always haunted him.

* * *

" _What exactly are we looking for, Gellert?" A young Dumbledore asked as he followed his new best friend into the Godric's Hollow woods._

 _It had been a whole week since Grindelwald had arrived in the sleepy village of Godric's Hollow. And Dumbledore's life was already changed. The young Bulgarian wizard had captured his imagination like no other. Of course, there was the concern regarding the disturbing tendencies that Grindelwald often displayed._

" _Albus, you have no idea how lucky you are. This village is the birth place of the three Peverell brothers, the original owners of the Hallows. What better place to start our quest eh?" The blonde haired boy spoke with a delirious obsession._

 _Later that evening, Albus sat near the lake in the woods as he waited for Gellert to return from his search mission. Suddenly, he heard screams. And without thinking twice he ran towards the direction of the sound._

" _Crucio!" The incantation was spoken like a veteran. Dumbledore froze in his tracks as he saw Gellert torture two people mercilessly._

" _Tell me or die!" The former Durmstrang student shouted at the bloodied man. Dumbledore could only hear incomprehensible words. And then it happened. A flash of green light and the tortured body lay dead upon the ground._

" _Gellert, STOP IT!" Dumbledore cried as he ran towards the other boy. "Expelliarmus" The wand flew out of Grindelwald's hand only to be caught again by deft hands. Dumbledore tried to restrain his friend manually._

" _OUT of my way, Albus!" Grindelwald howled and shoved Dumbledore to the ground._

 _The fall to the ground was quick but painful. Dumbledore was for a moment shocked. He ended up with a bruised elbow and a busted lip. But in between his groans he could hear, the unforgivable curse fall upon the other victim of Grindelwald._

" _I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…" The apology was genuine but Dumbledore was in no mood to forgive._

" _Leave me alone, Gellert. It's over between us."_

 _But Grindelwald was a master manipulator. He knew exactly what to say. "You know, those muggles I killed, they attacked Ariana."_

" _You're lying." Dumbledore shot back. He wanted to believe so bad._

" _I collected their memories, I can show you." And Grindelwald did just that and more. The reconciliation was sealed with some passionate love making. The evening light fell upon them as Grindelwald lifted up Albus in an embrace and slammed him against a tree. The latter wanted to think about the conflicting emotions and the consequences of their actions but he was distracted by the blonde haired boy who was exploring all the right places, taking them both to an orgasmic bliss._

 _It was only much later that Dumbledore was to realize how easily a skillful wizard could alter memories._

* * *

"Why didn't you join him?" Professor Dumbledore asked his former lover.

"Ah… I don't follow. No. I am a leader." For the first time in a very long time, Dumbledore felt relieved about Grindelwald's notorious display of arrogance.

"These other prisoners, they are cowards. No vision, just plain ugly mischief." Grindelwald continued to mock the prisoners who had traded allegiance to Voldemort for freedom.

"He will come looking for you. I'm sure of that. You are linked to the Elder Wand." Dumbledore said. "Maybe, you can go somewhere he can't find you."

"You know me Albus." Grindelwald replied as he moved his face closer to Dumbledore's. It had the desired effect as the flamboyant Headmaster's breathing hitched. A toothless grin spread on Grindelwald's face. He liked it, the secret power he held over Dumbledore. Then, he whispered, "I will not run and hide. I am no coward. But then, you know that."

* * *

"… _imagine owning the three Hallows at once. We could be the all powerful rulers of our world." Grindelwald was passionate as he explained to Dumbledore his plan for the Deathly Hallows. He stood up and leaned into the Dumbledore's chair, bringing their faces only inches apart. Perhaps he knew the effect it would have on Dumbledore or perhaps Grindelwald was swayed by the moment._

" _So, would you come with me?" The Durmstrang boy asked the auburn head._

 _Dumbledore wanted to raise questions about the Muggle domination but he could not. All he could sense was Grindelwald's proximity, the electric blue eyes and the warm breath of fervor. Before he could say anything, he felt Grindelwald's lips thrust on his own. The kiss was like a roller coaster thrill machine. It was at this moment that Dumbledore knew, it was not the quest for world domination and the Hallows which interested him. He was interested in a different kind of quest, the one he made, during their intimate moments, when he searched for love in Gellert's eyes._

* * *

The two men sat in silence in the dingy prison cell of Nurmengard.

"I'm curious. Would you be willing to work on our side to beat Voldemort?" Albus Dumbledore treaded cautiously as he wondered if Grindelwald felt remorse for his actions. Maybe, this would be a chance for atonement.

"Oh Albus. I hate to admit but I am halfway across the veil already. Besides, I sympathize with Voldemort." The man replied with a crooked smile.

"I though you had changed for the better." Dumbledore said as he tried to hide his disappointment.

Grindelwald's laughter sounded like an evil roar. "You still think of me as your angelic wizard-in-shining-armor lover? How blind can you be, Albus?"

Dumbledore did not want to ask any further. He could see that almost a century later, Grindelwald had changed little.

"Prison may have wounded my body, Albus,"Grindelwald continued taunting the visitor, "But my beliefs are still the same. These muggles are inferior and hopefully this Voldemort will teach them their place." He laughed a wicked and merciless laugh that seemed to shoot painful arrows in Dumbledore's heart.

* * *

 _It was almost two months since the two young wizards in Godric's Hollow began their rendezvous adventures. The dark streaks of reality were beginning to show in Albus's summer dream. Grindelwald had planned to traverse the world to put his plan of muggle domination into action. And he wanted Dumbledore as his partner in crime._

" _We start with my home, Bulgaria. I will enjoy every moment of taking down those no-talent, muggle-loving wizards." Grindelwald was delirious as he talked about his course of action._

" _I cannot leave my brother and sister here. You know Ariana's condition is delicate." Dumbledore was torn and conflicted._

" _You always worry too much." Grindelwald began as he tried to put the Hogwarts genius under his spell again. "It's for the Greater Good." And then he kissed the young Dumbledore._

 _Behind the drapes, Aberforth listened to the conversation. He was seething with rage as he barged into his brother's room._

" _HOW DARE YOU!" He screamed. "YOU ARE LEAVING US? LEAVING HER?"_

" _A-Abe…" Dumbledore tried to speak as his mind tried hard to find an explanation to calm down his younger brother._

" _You know her condition! How can you even think about leaving?" Aberforth was close to tears. And then he directed his anger at Grindelwald. "YOU ARE POISONING MY BROTHER'S MIND!"_

 _Albus could sense that Gellert was at his wit's end. He was scared that the latter might lose control, yet again. And he was right as the next moment Aberforth was on the ground, writhing in pain._

" _Don't hurt him, please, it's my fault, hurt me instead…" Dumbledore pleaded with Grindelwald._

 _And then it was all chaos. Ariana entered the room and Grindelwald lost all control. Dumbledore begged for mercy. It was too late as at the end of it all Ariana was dead and Grindelwald had left the village, never to return._

* * *

The conversation had run its course. Grindelwald stared at his visitor, observing and wondering.

"Tell me, Albus, why you are _really_ here?" His directness made Dumbledore nervous. He knew it was time for the moment of truth.

"I seek closure." The Professor said earnestly. As his last year was running out, this was one thing Dumbledore wanted to set right. "Did you ever love me?"

Grindelwald's face became serious as he hesitated to answer.

"How does it matter now, Albus?" He finally asked. "It's all in the past."

Dumbledore was not satisfied with the evasion. He tried a different approach. "Would you do it differently if you were given a second chance?"

Grindelwald did not answer. His expression was somber.

"I think you used me, my vulnerability, my weakness. You used it to get what you wanted, the Deathly Hallows." Dumbledore spoke with a heavy heart.

"I cared about you, Albus." Grindelwald said. "I don't think I'm capable of loving anyone."

"Ah…" Dumbledore was lost for words.

"But I liked the idea, of you and me, masters of the Deathly Hallows." Grindelwald continued.

"Oh Gellert, I was never interested in the Hallows. They are a terrible treasure, bringing only death and destruction upon their owners." Dumbledore's words seemed to affect Grindelwald deeply, forcing him to introspect.

After a while the latter spoke, looking directly into Dumbledore's eyes. "Guess we were fools then, for the Deathly Hallows?"

"I was only a fool for you, Gellert." The reply was prompt and honest.

* * *

 _As the clock struck midnight, Hogwarts slept except for a lone window that shone light. Professor Albus Dumbledore was busy reading but his mind wandered. He knew he had to face Grindelwald. Everyone was looking up to him. But it pained him. If only he could stop the dark wizard without making war with him. The Professor sighed. He knew that the Wizarding Ministries were in no mood to dialogue and neither was Grindelwald._

 _An owl landed upon his window. It carried a small card with the words 'THE LAKE'. Dumbledore hastily moved towards the fireplace and in a moment he dissolved into nothingness._

 _It was a moonlit night so Dumbledore did not draw out the wand light. He cautiously made his way towards the familiar spot in the woods near Godric's Hollow. A familiar figure stood ahead. Grindelwald looked fierce. The teenaged boy was now a well built muscular young man._

" _You look good, Albus." The dark wizard remarked with a mischievous smile._

" _Stop the war, Gellert." Dumbledore shot back. Of all the emotions that he was feeling, the one that finally gripped him was that of anger. He was angry at Grindelwald for Ariana's death, for using him, for leaving the way he did all those years ago. But above all, Dumbledore was angry at himself for still being in love with the narcissistic man standing before him._

 _Grindelwald's cruel laughter rang through the dark silence of the forest. "You know, they think you are the savior." He said. "That you will take me down." The dark wizard continued slyly. "If only they knew their beloved Professor's salacious past."_

" _You may own the Elder Wand, Gellert but that is no guarantee for a win." Dumbledore replied._

" _I don't doubt your skill, Albus. No." Grindelwald said as he moved closer to the other man. "But, you have a weakness, you see." Dumbledore hung his head in despair. He did not move as Grindelwald brought his wand tip below his chin and ever so lightly forced it up. "You love me too much." The evil wizard continued as the two made eye contact._

 _But what shocked Dumbledore was what his once lover did next. Grindelwald grabbed at the Professor's waist and began to feverishly kiss him. The latter could barely move._

" _Join me." Grindelwald seductively whispered in Dumbledore's ear._

" _No." Dumbledore cried as he finally regained control of his body and pushed the rogue wizard away. The dreaded duel was inevitable now._

* * *

Dumbledore glanced at the antique pocket watch. It was time to leave.

"I shall take leave now, Gellert." He said.

The prisoner only nodded.

Professor Dumbledore's legs seemed heavy as he got up to leave. The floor creaked as his boots made contact with it. Before he crossed the threshold of the prison door he stopped and turned. Grindelwald sat motionlessly in the corner. For a moment Dumbledore thought he saw a hint of sadness in the other man's face. But before he could think any further about it, the old man broke into a crooked smile. Dumbledore smiled back as he held back tears behind his half moon glasses.

The heavy metal door shut behind him as Hogwarts' Headmaster made his way out of Nurmengard prison.

* * *

Grindelwald stood on the deserted platform trying to figure out the strange surroundings. It all seemed surreal. He knew he was dead. He'd seen the fatal green sparks off Voldemort's wand directed at him.

This must be heaven, he thought to himself. And if that were the case there was only one place he wished to be. But before he could set off to find the train to his destination, he felt his surroundings dissolve into another place.

Grindelwald smiled as he stood outside his aunt's house. There, right across the narrow alley, stood a familiar cottage. 'Maybe, this was his second chance, after all', he thought as he walked towards Dumbledore's old house _._


End file.
